Nix's news - Cyprus trip

Dear Friends and Family!

At long last I have decided to start keeping my news blog updated again with the days of my life ;)! All my exciting news of eating, sleeping and working ;).

It's been a very long time since my last post. This whole year has actually really gone so fast for me, we're already in September! I've had a really great summer here. Some highlights of my summer include spending time with friends, my towns folk week festival which was great, braais (barbecues) on the beach, swimming in the sea (yes I swam in the cold sea), kayaking, running, walking and of course laughing ;)! I can't write about everything I've done in the last few months but overall I can say that I really enjoyed this summer. The weather has been crazy this summer though, our river even flooded in my town and we've had the waves crashing over on to the sea front. I got splashed by a huge wave when I was filming the waves and that provided some entertainment for the couple watching me.

My most recent news as I've sure most of you have seen already, I went for a week holiday in Cyprus. It was very quickly planned and organised, all in a day! It was the best holiday, I had such an incredible time there. While I was there I must say it's the only other country besides Zimbabwe where I felt at home, it is actually half my home. It was nice to be able to speak some Greek again and read all the Greek writing everywhere. My camera broke on the plane just before I landed (haha on my France trip last year my camera memory card failed - I do great with cameras) but I borrowed one and used my phone and I have hundreds of photos.

I stayed with friends and arrived on Wednesday the 29th in the late evening and that night straight from the airport they took me to Larnaca and we ate souvlaki by the sea. My first full day there I spent the day in Larnaca at the beach. I played a racket game with a ball and bats and it's a very popular game in Cyprus and lots of fun. The sea was so warm, it was like swimming in a bath. The Uk sea is like swimming in ice water. We ate at a nice restaurant by the beach and I decided to eat raw fish and that was not my favourite haha. It was a full moon that night.

The next day on Friday I packed and we went to Protaras and stayed in a holiday flat. In Protaras they have that beautiful turquoise blue water. We swam when we arrived in the late afternoon and it was another full moon that night - blue moon. They had two full moons in a row and that only happens every few years. I went out to dinner on the main street in Protaras and we all had souvlaki. In the evening we went to Larnaca and we had a night out there at a beach bar, same place I had lunch on my first day.

On Saturday we spent the whole day on the beach in Protaras swimming and we hired a boat and went on a boat along the coast. We stopped the boat for a while in a very beautiful part and all jumped in the sea. In the evening we had dinner at a Greek restuarant and I had Kleftiko (Greek Lamb) and after dinner we went to a hotel that has a cliff bar where you can overlook Protaras from high up but there was a private function so we couldn't get to that section right on the edge but we could see some of it.

On Sunday we also spent the day on another part of the beach in Protaras. It was the beach right near the hotel where I stayed in with my family when I was a kid. In the late afternoon I walked to the hotel and took pictures of it, I have few memories from there. I remember jumping off the deck in to the water with my sister and my dad. My sister and I were swimming with our tubes while my dad tread water. At Fig Tree beach which is what the beach is called, there was a rock in the middle which my friend and I swam to and I touched the rock - I made a point of touching it haha. In the evening we went to a Greek restuarant and the cutest kitten was watching us eat. There are cats everywhere in Cyprus, everywhere! I took this photo of him/ her :



On Monday on our last morning there we went to Ayia Napa and spent the morning on Nissi beach. Ayia Nppa also has stunning turquoise water and I think I liked that beach the most. It was very shallow but as you swim further and further from the shore eventually you get to deep water where you can have a very nice swim.

Here's a pic of Ayia Napa:



Monday afternoon they drove me to Limmasol to visit friends there and in the evening we walked along the sea front and explored the 5 star hotels. Such massive beautiful hotels! We ate pizza on the sea front listened to the sea. It was a nice calm soft sound of the sea that you can just listen to forever.

On Tuesday I went around Nicosia and visited a Monastery which was awesome. After the Monastery they took me to a church that's built in a cave - it was amazing! In the evening I met up with friends from Zim at a fantastic coffee place.

On Wednesday I went to the city centre in the old part of Nicosia. Nicosia is the only capitol in the world that's split in to two. Right in the middle of the city centre there's a border and the other side is the Turkish side of Cyprus and you need your passport to cross over. Before the airport I visited a family friend and then they took me to the airport and it was time to say goodbye. I think I brought back half of Cyprus with me ;).

I had such a wonderful time there. I can't even begin to describe how much this trip meant to me. I loved spending time with everyone I know there. I had such a great time and lots of laughs with them :)! I will definitely go back there :). I missed it when I got back. I felt like I had been in a different world. It really was like being in Paradise.

I arrived back on Thursday the 5th of September and started work on Friday the 6th. When I arrived back I was surprised that it was so sunny and warm here and spent the afternoon on the beach in shorts and a t-shirt just like I was in Cyprus every day.

I've been working very hard since I got back but also spending time with friends and going out and all sorts. I had a great time with friends last night at a birthday party. Tomorrow is my half day - I work until lunchtime on Wednesday and then I am off until Friday :).

I do have more plans to travel in the next few months so watch this space :).

I am off to bed now so I shall love and leave you for now,
Until I write again,
Nicola

PS - lots of photos of my trip on my facebook!

Spring and Sun and all things fun!

Dear Friends and Family,

Firstly our clocks go forward an hour! So from tomorrow onwards we have jumped an hour ahead!

The weather has been fantastic! Since Thurday we have had sunshine! The most wonderful part about it is I live by the sea! So I have been out and about quite a lot :)! It's really been a (lovely) few days lol! I have heard the word lovely so much recently!

Yesterday I was in the city with a friend and went to a show in the evening but couldn't stay, I was very tired after departure day so I headed home.

I cannot upload a couple of pictures I took, my blogger uploader is not working so well! I'm sure I will have more pictures to upload later on! I am like the local paparazzi! Lol I love capturing things! Especially beautiful sights and people!

I have 2 days off now :)! Fun in the sun! If there is sun lol!

So that's an idea of what I've been up to!

Plus another thing that really made me go wow is Psalm 33:5 "the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord." FULL! Woop - an awesome God who loves us always! Who is directing us in our lives.

This scripture is one of my favourites. Isaiah 40: 28-31 "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary, his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and not be weary and young men shall fall exhausted but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."

I feel a new post coming up on my writing blog - nicolathewriter.blogspot.com
I also post things on my writing blog on tumblr too.

I had literally just posted this and this song came on my spotify! The lyrics and everything are awesome and could not think of a better song to add to this post, it's so good and I went back to this post edited it and it's below for you :)!



With that I shall love and leave you,
Until I write again,
God bless,
Nicola

Birthdays all around

Dear Friends and Family!

For one thing this blog post comes from me typing off my blackberry as I don't have internet at the moment but when you want to write, you want to write :)!

I guess a good place to start is with the title! Well 3 people I met some at work and on a bus had 3 birthdays one day after the other, each of them turning 80. After the 2nd one it really got me thinking how much of a story you must have to tell with 80 years. Even though I have only lived just over a quarter of that, I still have a lot I've done so with 80 years you must have some really good stories to tell. I like hearing people's stories about what they have done in their lives no matter their age. Every life is a story.

While still on the topic of birthdays, earlier this month was my step-brothers birthday, yesterday was a friends birthday, today is my dads birthday and tomorrow is my step-sisters birthday and next month is my birthday.

I think the greatist thing about someone's birthday is that it gives you a day to say Happy Birthday and think about them and how they special they are. I think everyone adds something to your life and however you met them or well you know them there's only one of them and I like to take time to appreciate people. I try to wish everyone I can happy birthday. Online has got a great way of keeping track of birthdays and wishing those people you know around the world and that's what is keeping me online these days because I want to wish everyone. You always have that special feeling when it's your birthday and you should because you're an irreplaceable part of the world!

It's been warmer here in the Uk as we go in to Spring, really nice walking and living by the sea. I find it very funny how excited they get about the sun here. I have just been enjoying my life here, my job and my friends. It's really hit me that I have been here for over 2 years now when I never intended to stay this long but in that time I have met some amazing people and made friends from all corners of the world and built a life for myself here so I guess this is where I am meant to be for now although later on who knows. I have been enjoying life and things are going really well at the moment. I haven't been online as much, especially on facebook, haha strange coming from me or writing news as much but I am happy and healthy and of course with my unique sense of humour haha ;)!

I do love keeping in touch with friends and family who are spread out far and wide across the earth. I am always up for a text, call, skype call, chat, email - you get the idea! Also always up for hanging out if you are not so spread out and closer to me on this earth lol! Even for those who may not know me as well, got to start somewhere right ;)!

Best way to reach me quickly I guess my mobile, bbm or email or twitter even lol because I get those updates on my mobile. I am not disappearing, I am a contactable person just giving you the details incase I may not sign in to facebook as much for those of you who contact me regularly there.

I thank God for my life here for every piece of it and every good piece of me is a piece He has put together! All glory to Him!

PS: Our internet came back just as I was finishing this so I do added a song woop! I absolutely love music, always have, always will!

I have been listening to this song a lot recently and saw it posted on facebook today and I love the lyrics!

Part of the lyrics "Come and take my hand I won't let you go, I'll be your friend I'll love you so deeply"



Love and God Bless,
Until I write again,
Nix

My news! I've re-opened my blog :)

Dear Friends and Family!

After a lot of thought I have decided to re-open this blog and share my news with you all again. Of course my news isn't a play by play of my life but it gives you an idea of what I'm getting up to. I don't write every minor detail but some things. Of course you may want to know when I brush my teeth and when I put my shoes on and all those fun bits of information but I think I'll leave out those details ;)!

Let's see where to begin. I'll give a brief summary of the past few months since I stopped writing my news. I went to Paris (beautiful city - pictures on my facebook), finished my working year end of December, went on holiday the whole month of Jan, came back then started work mid-feb, took a 3 day vacation recently (pictures on my facebook in 3 albums).

Back to my news. Well I'm sick at the moment haha. I worked this morning but I had to take the night off work tonight.I did just have a couple days off too so I rested. Well except for going to Exeter on Sunday lol. Being sick happens so moving on... haha

The weather is warming up, even sat on the beach in the sun with just a t-shirt. Although it's warmer here on the coast however whenever I find myself in the city I freeze lol, it's so much colder there! It's funny I was recalling how it was in Africa, where almost everyday the weather was warm - over 20 degrees, mostly around 25 degrees and now that I'm living in England a warm day is a rare occasion.

I visited another coastal town here on the 4th of March and stayed in a hotel there, it was one of those vacations where you think oh I've got time off and I want to go somewhere, so I went somewhere :). Like I said on my other blog the things that happened and how this trip unfolded was amazing, you'll have to read my other blog to see what I'm talking about. It was very peaceful, I was moving practically the whole day lol but I felt a lot more relaxed than I had felt in a long time. It was a good experience, my first trip with just me. Actually it was the first time in over a year or even more than that where it was just me with no one I know around for more than 3 days of so.

I suppose I have been like James Bond under-cover for a while, you know laying low but I guess I like sharing my news and my life. I like hearing about your news and your life too. I like catching up with people. I like a lot of things haha.

Well I think for my first post in ages I'll let you off the hook ;), I won't write an essay but good to have this blog again.

The only way to end this post is with a song of course - yeah I still love music, I listen to Spotify so much now actually!

This is a great song I heard!



God always knows who we are. He's always there for us.

Until I write again,
God Bless,
Love Nix